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Support : Serial : Installation Guide
Thank you for purchasing an AIRcable. Your satisfaction is very important to us, so please read this guide before installing your AIRcable modules. We'd appreciate your feedback.
Guide Outline
AIRcable devices are run intelligent firmware-based onboard Bluetooth connection software. There is no need to install and configure extra software to establish a wireless connection. Because the AIRcable is designed to replace physical connections, you can run the same software that would normally support a physical cable.
Each module has a button accessible through a hole in the device which is used to pair two modules that become a point-to-point Wireless Cable(TM). During this pairing process, make sure no other Bluetooth device is discoverable within range (approx. 10 meters).
Each module has one power LED (green) which shows that the firmware is running correctly and a connection LED (blue) that shows the status of a connection. The connection LED will be solid if a connection to another device is active, otherwise it is blinking or it is off.
The AIRcable Serial is Bluetooth 1.1 certified and is compatible with all other Bluetooth 1.1 devices. The AIRcable Serial is compliant with RS-232 serial industrial standard EIA-232-E. There are two different versions available: The DTE, Sub-D 9 pin female connector and the DCE, Sub-D 9 pin male adapter.
The AIRcable Serial supports all modem control signals, including DTR, DSR, and DCD. Data flow control is implemented using RTS/CTS handshake. Data mode by default is 8 bit, no parity, one stop bit.
NOTE: Because the devices implement hardware handshake, the RTS/CTS lines either have to be connected or must be switched off. If your device does not support hardware handshake you must switch off hardware handshake with the 4th switch on the AIRcable switch (down position) in order for the AIRcable Serial to work properly.
Pin 9 can be used for powering the AIRcable Serial module by applying 5-15V DC plus to pin 9, GND is pin 5 instead of using an external power adapter.
Baud rate Selection and Switches
The AIRcable Serial provides switches accessible from the top to select the baud rate. Switch up is on or '1'. Down means off or '0'.
The 4th switch is for hardware handshake. Up means hardware handshake is switched on, down means off.
| SW1 | SW2 | SW3 | Baud Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 31.25 kbit/s |
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 19.2 k |
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.8 k |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 56.7 k |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.8 k |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 38.4 k |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 9.6 k |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 115.2 k |
AIRcable devices support these modes:
When you receive an AIRcable Serial, the device must be configured. See Cable Mode, Service-Slave Mode, and Service-Master Mode for information on how to configure your device.
In cable-mode, two AIRcable devices are paired together and create a connection with one another so no other device can interfere.
To pair two AIRcables use this simple procedure:
The AIRcable Serial can be set into various advanced modes. Use the command line interface to change into these modes.
Using the Command Line Interface
The command line interface is available through the serial interface before the AIRcable device is connected. This means that the connection LED must be either blinking or off.
Connecting to your AIRcable Module
If you're using an AIRcable USB, just plug the AIRcable Module into your computers USB device. To plug the AIRcable Serial into a PC use a serial null-modem cable with a male type DB9 connector.
In order to configure your AIRcable Module through the command line interface you need a terminal program such as HyperTerminal, Minicom, or a great program called SimpleTerm. HyperTerminal comes with the default installation of Windows2k, and XP. You will be able to find it under Accessories->Communication. Once you have the program up and running set the parameters for the new terminal connection to the following:
Once you've done that, connect to your AIRcable device and be sure to specify the right com port. If the terminal program tells you you're connected but nothing shows up, don't panic. The AIRcable devices don't have a welcome banner (Something that is displayed when a user connects to it) but you are connected to the device and can run commands. Additionally, if you type something and nothing shows up, don't panic. Most terminal programs by default have what's called echoing turned off. Echoing allows you to see what you type in the terminal. To turn it on, do the following: go to File->Properties->Settings->ASCII Setup-> and check Echo Delay, then press "Ok." Now that you can see what you're typing, entering commands becomes much easier.
Each command starts with a "^A" (control-A or 0x1) character, then follows one of the commands listed below in capital letters and finishes with a single carriage return <CR> or 0xd. The command has to be completed within 3 seconds. Otherwise the received characters are deleted and ignored. All commands respond with an "OK".
Be aware that some commands require the device to be in a certain state, as well as a reset for the command to function. These commands are marked with (*). The process will take a few seconds
during which the AIRcable will not respond to any commands. The power light will go out briefly.
This mode allows other devices with Bluetooth, such as a Palm or Laptop, to connect to your AIRcable. The main advantage of this mode is that it allows several devices to connect to it as opposed to the Cable Mode which is point-to-point and allows only one connection.
In order to switch the AIRcable module into "Service-Slave Mode" use the commands detailed below when connected to your AIRcable module. This is just an example. Please adjust the commands
to the situation you need, including your security needs.
The Service-Master Mode is the counter part to the Service-Slave Mode. It can be used as a master to connect to several Bluetooth devices that are in range, one at a time. The advantage to this is that it does not require pairing or bonding with the other end. It is a truly automatic-connect to many other Bluetooth devices. [Certainly you can configure automatic pairing with a PIN number of your choice.]
For example, it can connect to Bluetooth scanners without pairing it to a particular one. In this case the Service-Master AIRcable would be configured with the PIN number of the scanner (often "0000") with authentication enabled and it will automatically connect to the first scanner it finds. This way you can move between scanners without changing the configuration.
The Bluetooth Service-Master Mode can also be used to connect to a number of AIRcable devices in Service-Slave Mode. This is designed for field usage where the AIRcable Service-Slave modules are stationary and the AIRcable Service-Master is going from one Service-Slave module to another. Below an example of how to configure your AIRcable module to Service-Master mode. Remember to configure it to your needs.
The manual mode is designed to give Bluetooth support to devices that cannot run a full Bluetooth stack. The command line interface is a collection of the simple, most common Bluetooth commands. It allows the discovery of other devices, pairing, inbound slave and outbound master connections, and disconnect by software.
You should understand Bluetooth before you use the manual mode. Please contact us if you have any questions or visit our forums.
Once a connection is established, the command line interface is no longer available since all input and output is routed through transparently to the other end.
In this mode it is possible to disconnect a link programmatically. Depending on the type of device (DTE, DCE or USB) your software would disable either the DTR or the DSR line, whichever is an input on the AIRcable side.
List of Commands for the Command Line Interface
Note that the (*) in the description means that this command may reset the processor. Wait for 3 seconds before issuing another command.
